Hornbeck Quits as Power Shifts In Philadelphia

The shifting political power structure in Philadelphia and its
school system in recent months culminated last week in the resignation
of Superintendent David W. Hornbeck.

After years of rancorous and often fruitless battles with state
lawmakers for more school aid, it was well known that Mr. Hornbeck was
frustrated. In his view, the 217,000-student district—despite
rising test scores—was not getting the money it needed from the
state to fully implement his agenda.

But the city's first-year mayor, John F. Street, recently called a
halt to the bruising public dispute over school funding and began an
effort with state officials to resolve their differences—a major
change in local strategy.

The animosity between Mr. Hornbeck and leaders in the state capital,
including Gov. Tom Ridge, was viewed by the mayor and others, including
the superintendent himself, as a significant obstacle.

"I reached the conclusion that while they do that, it didn't make
any sense for me to share what I really think of the leadership in
Harrisburg," Mr. Hornbeck, 58, said last week in referring to the
rapprochement. "I hope the mayor and the board will find a third way
that will be successful."

Mr. Hornbeck's departure this summer will mark the end of a six-year
tumultuous tenure for the former Maryland state superintendent, who
came to Philadelphia with a national reputation as a thinker on
education policy and an ambitious program for turning the troubled
school district around.

His announcement came just days after Mr. Street, a Democrat, and
the Republican governor reached an agreement to shift additional state
money to the school district, easing the threat of a state takeover.
("Settlement Averts
School Shutdown in Philadelphia," June 7, 2000.)

Labor Talks Loom

Mr. Hornbeck, who had one year remaining on his contract, will stay
on the job through Aug. 15. He said he had no immediate plans for what
he would do next, except to spend time with his two grandchildren and
possibly work on a book about his experiences in education.

He said he began receiving queries about openings in other districts
almost immediately following his June 5 announcement, but said he is
not interested.

An interim superintendent will be chosen this summer, and
Philadelphia will launch a nationwide search for a permanent
replacement, officials said.

Some observers who had heard speculation about Mr. Hornbeck's
departure said they were caught off guard last week by the timing
because the district is negotiating a new teachers' contract to replace
the one that expires Aug. 31.

"My hope is that his leaving has no impact on what happens," said
Ted Kirsch, the president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers,
the local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. "We've been
negotiating, and we will keep negotiating."

Mr. Hornbeck said he would stay involved in the talks and would be
willing to help after Aug. 15, if asked.

Meanwhile, the future of his broad program for raising student
achievement in the system remained uncertain.

"The question for us now is who can carry on and build upon his
legacy," said Shawn Farr, the acting executive director of Greater
Philadelphia First, a group of business leaders that administered $150
million in school improvement grants for the city, including $50
million from the Annenberg Foundation. "He will be viewed as turning
around the district and getting the focus on education and
children."

Children Achieving

In August 1994, Mr. Hornbeck was tapped by then-Mayor Edward G.
Rendell, a Democrat, to run a system that had long been battered by low
test scores and financial woes.

Having worked on statewide education efforts in Kentucky and
Maryland, Mr. Hornbeck arrived with many of the details of Children
Achieving, his 10-point plan for turning around the district, already
worked out.

Though not all of its pieces have been implemented, changes such as
the adoption of higher academic standards and the start of all-day
kindergarten have led to some encouraging results.

District officials were elated over the news last month that 58
percent of city 4th graders had scored at the basic level or higher on
the latest Stanford Achievement Test-9th Edition—up from 39
percent in 1996.

Mr. Hornbeck made funding and achievement the two fronts of his
battle for better schools.

"What superintendents must do, and what David did, is enter with a
focus on raising the achievement of poor and disadvantaged students and
have a plan to do it," said Wendy D. Puriefoy, the executive director
of the Public Education Network, a Washington-based coalition of local
education funds. Mr. Hornbeck is the chairman of the organization's
board of directors.

"But all the tools needed to help kids' achievement eventually
translate into more money," Ms. Puriefoy argued. "In the case of David
Hornbeck, he's been clear about that."

On the funding side, Mr. Hornbeck helped initiate a federal lawsuit
against the state, charging that Pennsylvania's system of paying for
schools discriminates against minority students.

While elected state officials had bristled at the superintendent's
frequent calls for more money, it was the suit, and Mr. Hornbeck's
assertions that the funding problem had a racial component, that
rankled the most.

"We've been clear that his rhetoric has been an impediment to
progress here," Gov. Ridge's spokesman, Tim Reeves, said last week.
"The idea of the district saying [school funding] is racist is
outrageous. It's difficult to overstate how much that was resented
here."

In an interview two days after he announced his resignation, Mr.
Hornbeck remained unapologetic. "I never called anybody racist," he
said. "I think the funding system in fact is a racist system. There's
no doubt that it discriminates against kids of color. For some reason,
a lot of people took that personally."

Different Styles

While his uncompromising style earned him the respect of children's
advocates and many school supporters in the city, it may have become a
liability for the new mayor.

Not only did Mr. Street campaign on an education platform, but
voters also gave him the power last fall to name the entire school
board. In the past, mayors were forced to work with board members
appointed by previous administrations.

In addition, Mr. Street created the office of education secretary,
and has made the school board president he appointed, Pedro Ramos, a
more visible force in school policy.

"Mr. Hornbeck did not have the ability to negotiate with the major
players—the state legislature and the governor," said state
Assemblyman Dwight Evans, a Philadelphia Democrat. "This is what Mayor
Street and Mr. Ramos are able to do."

The power shift was evident last month in the deal that gave the
district enough money for the 2000-01 school year, avoiding a shutdown
over the summer. In return for the funds, the district agreed to trim
$30 million from its budget in fiscal 2001 from staff training,
administration, and other costs not tied to student services. Mr.
Street and the school board agreed to postpone for a year the school
funding lawsuit.

Mr. Hornbeck said he would not have put off the lawsuit, but said he
did not hold it against the mayor or the school board.

"The only other choice was to trigger a takeover by precisely those
who demonstrate year in and year out that education in general, and
education for poor rural and urban children in particular, are simply
not the priority," the superintendent said in his resignation
announcement.

Debra Kahn, the mayor's secretary of education, rejected the
assertion made by some that the agreement with the state was in some
way contingent on Mr. Hornbeck's departure.

And, in a statement last week, the mayor lauded the outgoing chief
as a successful reformer. "We brought Mr. Hornbeck here to help turn
the system around," Mr. Street said in a statement. "He and his team
have started us down that road."

Vol. 19, Issue 40, Pages 1, 10-11

Published in Print: June 14, 2000, as Hornbeck Quits as Power Shifts In Philadelphia

Study after study shows that a crucial factor in determining whether
schools-and school districts-succeed or fail is the quality and
stability of their leadership. Read our special series on Leadership in Education.

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.